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Perspectives in Biology and Medicine, Volume 50, Number 4, Autumn

2007, pp. 521-534 (Article)

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DOI: 10.1353/pbm.2007.0041

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 What Many Transgender
A c t i v i s t s D o n ’ t Wa n t
Yo u To K n o w

and why you should know it anyway

J. Michael Bailey* and Kiira Triea

ABSTRACT Currently the predominant cultural understanding of male-to-female

transsexualism is that all male-to-female (MtF) transsexuals are, essentially, women
trapped in men’s bodies. This understanding has little scientific basis, however, and is
inconsistent with clinical observations. Ray Blanchard has shown that there are two dis-
tinct subtypes of MtF transsexuals. Members of one subtype, homosexual transsexuals,
are best understood as a type of homosexual male. The other subtype, autogynephilic
transsexuals, are motivated by the erotic desire to become women. The persistence of
the predominant cultural understanding, while explicable, is damaging to science and
to many transsexuals.

COMMON UNDERSTANDING OF male-to-female transsexualism is that all

A MtF transsexuals are, essentially, women trapped in men’s bodies.The stan-
dard narrative of men who become women goes something like this: “I have
always felt that I was born in the wrong body. I have always been feminine in
my interests and feelings. My desire to change sex is about my gender identity
and not my sexuality.”This narrative, which Dreger (2007) has termed “the fem-
inine essence narrative,” represents both what most laypeople believe to be true,

* Department of Psychology, Northwestern University, 2029 Sheridan Road, Evanston, Illinois

60208-2710.
E-mail: [email protected].

Perspectives in Biology and Medicine, volume 50, number 4 (autumn 2007):521–34

© 2007 by The Johns Hopkins University Press

521
J. Michael Bailey and Kiira Triea

as well as what transsexuals are likely to say publicly.The narrative has been ex-
tended to an etiological theory, which Lawrence (2007b) has called “the brain-
sex theory of transsexualism.”The transsexual advocacy website, transsexual.org,
puts this theory succinctly: “A transsexual is a person in which the sex-related
structures of the brain that define gender identity are exactly opposite the phys-
ical sex organs of the body.”
The standard, feminine essence narrative, and the associated brain-sex theory,
are incorrect, in the sense that they do not represent reality, even if they do cor-
respond with many transsexual individuals’ beliefs and identities.The best scien-
tific evidence (discussed below) indicates that there are two distinct subtypes of
MtF transsexuals, and that the feminine essence narrative at best approximates
the life history of only one subtype. Paradoxically, this explanation of MtF trans-
sexualism persists because it is the explanation preferred by the other subtype, to
which it does not apply at all. The popularity of the feminine essence narrative
reflects factors other than the strength of scientific support. Its persistence has
likely had negative consequences for both science and transsexuals themselves.

Two Kinds of Male-to-Female

Transsexuals
The classification system of MtF transsexuals that we believe to be correct was
developed by the psychologist Ray Blanchard in a series of studies conducted at
the Clarke Institute of Psychiatry in Toronto and published between 1985 and
1995. (Blanchard’s relevant oeuvre includes more than 20 articles; we provide
only a summary of his conclusions.) Blanchard’s studies reported data on hun-
dreds of transsexual males (that is, males who hoped to become or had become
women), as well as other individuals who were male with respect to birth sex
and did not desire sex reassignment surgery, but who sometimes presented them-
selves, or thought of themselves, as female. Participants in these studies were rep-
resentative of gender patients in Canada, and were probably also quite similar to
patients seen in the United States and Western Europe. Blanchard’s goal was to
make sense out of the diversity of patients that gender clinics saw.
With respect to sexual orientation, Blanchard studied four groups of seeming-
ly diverse male participants: homosexual (entirely attracted to other males),
bisexual, heterosexual, and asexual. In three key studies, Blanchard (1985, 1988,
1989a) showed that homosexual transsexuals were different in a number of
respects from members of the three other groups, and that members of the lat-
ter groups did not differ much among themselves.These differences included age
of presentation at the gender clinic, history of childhood femininity, and most
importantly, history of erotic arousal in association with cross-dressing and cross-
gender fantasy.These findings supported the division of MtF transsexualism into
two types: homosexual and nonhomosexual. Blanchard’s work provided a parsi-
monious and compelling taxonomy for the apparent sexual diversity among MtF

522 Perspectives in Biology and Medicine

 What Many Transgender Activists Don’t Want You To Know

transsexuals, reducing the four types of MtF transsexuals to two fundamentally

distinct subtypes.
Autogynephilic Male-to-Female Transsexualism
Arguably, Blanchard’s most important contribution was recognizing and elab-
orating the phenomenon that united the three nonhomosexual transsexual sub-
types: autogynephilia. Autogynephilia is “a male’s propensity to be attracted to
the thought or image of himself as a woman” (Blanchard 2005). One common
manifestation of autogynephilia is fetishistic cross-dressing, which is an ex-
tremely common antecedent to seeking sex reassignment among nonhomosex-
ual (but not homosexual) transsexuals (Blanchard, Clemmensen, and Steiner
1987). Some autogynephilic individuals, however, do not cross-dress fetishisti-
cally. Indeed, a seminal case in Blanchard’s conceptualization was “Philip,” who
did not cross-dress but fantasized sexually about being a nude woman by focus-
ing on desired anatomical features (Blanchard 1991). Autogynephilia may be
conceived as inner-directed heterosexuality.That is, autogynephilic males are like
heterosexual men, except that their primary sexual attraction is to the image or
idea of themselves as women.
Blanchard hypothesized that nonhomosexual transsexuals are motivated by
autogynephilia. That is, nonhomosexual transsexuals experience erotic arousal at
the idea of becoming a woman, and this arousal motivates them to become
women. (We agree with Lawrence’s recent theoretical modification [2007a]
hypothesizing that romantic attachment can play an important role in some cases.
It is probable, however, that such attachment is usually preceded by substantial
erotic arousal to the idea of being a woman.)
Not all autogynephilic males become transsexuals. Autogynephilic interests
run a gamut from cross-dressing to engaging in stereotypic female activities (e.g.,
knitting alongside other women) to possessing female breasts and genitalia. It is
the latter interest that is most strongly associated with autogynephilic trans-
sexualism (Blanchard 1993b). Other than the precise nature of their autogy-
nephilic fantasy, there is no obvious difference between nonhomosexual cross-
dressers who will become transsexuals and those who will not.They are all auto-
gynephiles.
Blanchard’s work also clarified the diversity of self-reported sexual orienta-
tions among nonhomosexual transsexuals (Blanchard 1989a). Autogynephilia
(inner-directed heterosexuality) appears to compete with outward-directed
heterosexuality. Many autogynephilic transsexuals experience enough outward-
directed heterosexuality to label themselves as heterosexual pre-transition.Those
whose autogynephilia is strong enough that they experience no other-directed
sexual feelings identify as asexual. Finally, a common aspect of autogynephilia is
the erotic fantasy of being admired, in the female persona, by another person.
Autogynephiles for whom this fantasy is sufficiently strong tend to identify as
bisexual. However, this bisexuality is not characterized by equal or even similar

autumn 2007 • volume 50, number 4 523

J. Michael Bailey and Kiira Triea

kinds of attraction to male and female bodies. Blanchard (1989b) thus suggests
that it be characterized as “pseudobisexuality.”
Autogynephilia appears to be a paraphilia. Paraphilias are unusual, intense, and
persistent erotic interests. The concept of paraphilia is a controversial one, with
some arguing that it is merely a word used to stigmatize sexual behavior that
most people find undesirable (Moser 2001). Some paraphilias (e.g., pedophilia
and sadism) are harmful to other people, while others (e.g., autogynephilia and
fetishism) are not.Two non-obvious facts about paraphilias suggest that the label
paraphilia may represent more than a mere value judgment. First, paraphilias
are found nearly exclusively in males (APA 2000, p. 568). Second, at least some
paraphilias tend to occur together. Autogynephilia, for example, appears to be
correlated with other paraphilias, especially masochism (Lawrence 2006). Adver-
tisements of dominatrixes frequently offer services to cross-dressers, and autog-
ynephilic males are more likely than other males to become sexually aroused to
stimuli depicting masochistic themes (Chivers and Blanchard 1996; Wilson and
Gosselin 1980). Of men who die practicing the dangerous masochistic activity
of autoerotic asphyxia, approximately 25% are cross-dressed, a much higher per-
centage than one would expect based on the number of nonhomosexual cross-
dressers in the general population (Blanchard and Hucker 1991).
Homosexual Male-to-Female Transsexualism
Homosexual MtF transsexuals are much easier than autogynephilic transsex-
uals for most people to comprehend. Homosexual transsexuals are best under-
stood as a subset of homosexual males who were very feminine from early child-
hood. In some ways, then, they do appear to fit the feminine essence narrative:
they had male bodies as children, but behaviorally and psychologically they were
different, in some respects, from typical boys and more similar to typical girls.
Most males who begin life as extremely feminine boys, even those whose
femininity includes the wish to become girls, do not become transsexual. In the
contemporary United States, most become homosexual men (Bailey and Zucker
1995; Green 1987; Zuger 1984). Homosexual MtF transsexuals, in contrast, per-
sist in their wish to become female (Bailey 2003; Blanchard 1990). The reasons
for this atypical persistence are unclear. However, these individuals often have a
difficult time socially, romantically, and sexually, and their transition appears to be
largely motivated by a desire to improve their lives in these domains.
As their label implies, homosexual MtF transsexuals are homosexual with
respect to their birth sex.That is, they are attracted exclusively to men.Although
some writers have objected to the use of the word homosexual to refer to indi-
viduals who have sex with men as women (e.g., Gooren 2006), we retain the ter-
minology because it emphasizes the fact that homosexual MtFs are a subset of,
and developmentally related to, other homosexual males. Furthermore, it empha-
sizes the most efficient and practical way of distinguishing homosexual and auto-
gynephilic transsexuals. Homosexual transsexuals are unambiguously, exclusively,

524 Perspectives in Biology and Medicine

 What Many Transgender Activists Don’t Want You To Know

and intensely attracted to attractive men; autogynephilic transsexuals have some

other pattern of sexual attraction.That is, an MtF transsexual who reports attrac-
tion to both men and women, or a history of sexual attraction to women, or
considerable sexual experience with women, or attraction to neither men nor
women—any clearly nonhomosexual pattern—is almost certainly autogy-
nephilic (Blanchard 1989a; Blanchard, Clemmensen, and Steiner 1987).

Evidence for the Feminine Essence Narrative

and Brain-Sex Theory
The main theory competing with Blanchard’s theory of MtF classification is the
theory that all MtF transsexuals have a (probably innate) female gender identity.
By this theory, homosexual and nonhomosexual transsexuals have different sex-
ual orientations because sexual orientation and gender identity are distinct, per-
haps even uncorrelated, phenomena. Both homosexual and nonhomosexual
transsexuals share the same psychological condition, female gender identity,
which they experience in similar ways. Furthermore, both kinds of transsexuals,
as well as natal women, have in common neural circuitry that differs from that
of nontranssexual men, and that causes female gender identity.
Transsexual Narratives
The claim that MtF transsexuals are “women trapped in men’s bodies” is com-
monly made both by and about transsexuals.The evidentiary value of such claims
depends on their plausibility and the lack of alternative, more plausible explana-
tions. Nonhomosexual MtF transsexuals are not especially feminine in their inter-
ests and behaviors compared with most women (Herman-Jeglínska, Grabowska,
and Dulko 2002; Lippa 2001) or with homosexual MtF transsexuals (Bailey 2003;
Blanchard 1988). Furthermore, they often acknowledge autogynephilia (Law-
rence 2005), such as fetishistic cross-dressing (in contrast to most women and
homosexual MtF transsexuals [APA 2000; Blanchard, Clemensen, and Steiner
1987]). Thus, the contention that women and all MtF transsexuals have feminine
minds that motivate their feminine identification strikes us as implausible.
The Transsexual Brain Studies
In 1995, Zhou et al. described a sex difference in the size of a brain region,
the central subdivision of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BSTc), a col-
lection of cells in the hypothalamus.This article included data from the brains of
six MtF transsexuals, whose BSTc volumes were female-typical. A follow-up
paper by Kruijver et al. (2000) added another MtF transsexual’s brain and con-
firmed the earlier finding using different measurement techniques.
These studies have been widely touted by transsexual activists as supporting
the brain-sex theory of MtF transsexualism. Furthermore, a remarkable state-
ment by the British group, the Gender Identity Research and Education Society

autumn 2007 • volume 50, number 4 525

J. Michael Bailey and Kiira Triea

(GIRES 2006), appeared to base its support of transsexual treatment and rights
largely on the studies and their alleged implication that “transsexualism is a
neuro-developmental condition of the brain.” Several of the signatories of this
statement are distinguished researchers. The transsexual brain studies have also
received considerable scientific attention. As of February 1, 2007, the study by
Zhou et al. (1995) has been cited by 117 scholarly articles, and that of Kruijver
et al. (2000) has been cited by 43 scholarly articles. In contrast, Blanchard’s three
most highly cited autogynephilia-related studies (Blanchard 1985, 1989b; Blan-
chard, Clemmensen, and Steiner 1987) have each earned 38 such citations.
In our view, the influence of the transsexual brain studies is disproportionate
compared with their scientific value to understanding the etiology of MtF trans-
sexualism. Their relevance as support for the feminine essence narrative, as
opposed to Blanchard’s theory, is extremely weak—indeed, it is arguably absent.
There are several important limitations that prevent the brain studies from being
relevant in this regard (Lawrence 2007b). The most critical problem is that nei-
ther study includes the necessary hormonal controls to exclude the possibility
that the feminization of the BSTc in MtFs was due to hormone treatment, espe-
cially estrogen therapy, received for transsexualism. Recent research shows that
the volume of the hypothalamus is highly dependent on such hormonal treat-
ment, with smaller volumes associated with estrogenic treatment (Hulshoff Pol
et al. 2006).We concur with Lawrence (2007b) that this is the most likely expla-
nation of the Zhou et al. (1995) and Kruijver et al. (2000) findings. Certainly
those findings should be regarded cautiously until a study has ruled out the con-
cern regarding hormonal treatment.
Evidence from Sex-Reassigned Children
In principle, the feminine essence narrative and brain sex theory could be in-
stantiated by selecting a normal girl, medically masculinizing her body, and rear-
ing her as a boy from an early age. If anyone could be a female trapped in a male
body, or have a female brain in a male body, it would be a female such as this.
What we know about such cases suggests that they are similar to homosexual,
and different from nonhomosexual, MtF transsexuals.
There have been a few rare cases of females born with virilized genitalia due
to prenatal maternal use of a progestin, in which the attempt was made to rear
them as boys. The second author of this article is one such case, and she has
known two others personally. All three cases were quite similar in presentation
to homosexual MtF transsexuals: noticeably feminine presentation and interests,
early expression of dissatisfaction with the male role, and sexual interest in males.
None of these cases had signs of autogynephilia, such as fetishistic cross-dressing.
Finally, their decisions to transition were made on the basis of optimizing sexual
and social functioning, rather than because of a deep conviction that they were
women trapped in men’s bodies.

526 Perspectives in Biology and Medicine

 What Many Transgender Activists Don’t Want You To Know

Blanchard’s Theory Versus

the Feminine Essence Narrative
We believe that Blanchard’s theory of MtF transsexualism is far better supported,
and far more likely to be true, than the feminine essence narrative and the asso-
ciated brain-sex theory. It is based on far more data, with respect to the number
of both studies and subjects; no published scientific data in the peer-reviewed lit-
erature contradict it; and other investigators in other countries have obtained sim-
ilar findings (Smith et al. 2005). It also provides a plausible explanation for phe-
nomena that are problematic for the feminine essence narrative (e.g., fetishistic
cross-dressing and lack of early femininity among nonhomosexual transsexuals).
Why, then, has Blanchard’s theory remained underappreciated, compared with
the standard, feminine essence narrative? In the remainder of this section, we try
to explain this. First, however, we wish to emphasize some important respects in
which the two approaches to MtF transsexualism do not differ. Perhaps most im-
portantly, both proponents of the feminine essence narrative and of Blanchard’s
theory support the treatment of transsexuals by sex reassignment surgery. Indeed,
Blanchard (2000) has been a consistent advocate of such treatment for both
homosexual and autogynephilic transsexuals, as has one of the authors of this
article (Bailey 2003).
In addition, proponents of both theories see the histories people tell of their
lives as an important source of understanding. In a recent paper on autogy-
nephilia, Blanchard (2005) quotes extensively from self-reports of people with
autogynephilia, primarily from collections compiled by Lawrence (Lawrence
1999a, 1999b). We ourselves have learned much about diversity among MtF
transsexuals from our own interactions with members of each type.We believe,
however, that in this domain, as in others, people’s own narratives do not always
correspond to the true reasons for their choices and behaviors. Finally, propo-
nents of both theories recognize that MtF transsexuals are a diverse population
who differ among themselves in many ways due to life circumstances and per-
sonal characteristics. Nonetheless, we maintain that those who promote the fem-
inine essence narrative fail to acknowledge one important source of that diver-
sity, the distinction between homosexual and autogynephilic MtF transsexuals.
Denial of Autogynephilia
Few nonhomosexual transsexuals publicly identify as autogynephilic, and most
neither admit a history of sexual arousal to the idea of being a woman, nor accept
that such arousal was a motivating factor for their transsexualism. Indeed, al-
though most public transsexual activists appear by their histories and presentations
to be nonhomosexual MtF transsexuals, they have generally been hostile toward
the idea that nonhomosexual transsexualism is associated with, and motivated by,
autogynephilia. Prominent MtF transsexuals and transgenders who have expressed
outrage at the theory include Becky Allison (1998), Christine Burns (2004), Lynn

autumn 2007 • volume 50, number 4 527

J. Michael Bailey and Kiira Triea

Conway (2006), Andrea James (2006), Deirdre McCloskey (2003), Nancy Nan-
geroni (Grubb 2004), and Joan Roughgarden (2003).The most visible exception
has been Anne Lawrence, a physician, researcher, and psychotherapist, who both
identifies as autogynephilic and has done most of the recently published research
on autogynephilia.Willow Arune (2004) is another exception.
There are a number of reasons why autogynephilic individuals may prefer the
feminine essence narrative as an account of their condition, even if autogynephilia
is in fact the driving force.These include the concern (pre-transition) that clini-
cians will deem them unacceptable for sex reassignment if their transsexualism is
erotically motivated, or that people will consider them sexually deviant (Bailey
2003; Lawrence 2004). Because autogynephilia produces a strong desire to imag-
ine oneself as a woman, the feminine essence narrative is intrinsically appealing
to autogynephilic individuals, even if it is implausible. In contrast, an explanation
based on autogynephilia may be experienced as a narcissistic injury.
Transsexuals who have successfully accomplished the MtF transition some-
times see themselves as mentors to younger people attempting or considering
this path.They may feel that public acceptance of the feminine essence narrative
will facilitate the transition for these younger individuals. For example, parents
may be more accepting of a child whom they think of as a female unfortunately
born with a male’s body than of one whom they think of as a male erotically
aroused by the idea of being female. Finally, as Lawrence (2007a) notes, postop-
erative transsexuals whose desire and attachment to being women persists as
their sex drive diminishes with age may come to doubt that this desire has any-
thing to do with eroticism. She also explains how this pattern is explicable via
autogynephilia.
Attempts to Intimidate Proponents of Blanchard’s Theory
Beyond denying the role of autogynephilia in MtF transsexualism, some
transsexual activists have mounted attacks on those who publicly disagree with
them. In 2003, the first author published a book, The Man Who Would Be Queen,
about male femininity, including MtF transsexualism. The section on transsexu-
alism included summaries of Blanchard’s theory illustrated by transsexual women
of both types whom he had met, and who agreed to let their stories be included.
Upon publication, there was a firestorm of controversy among some MtF trans-
sexuals. Most notably, the transsexual activists Lynn Conway (2006) and Andrea
James (2006) led an internet “investigation” into the publication of the book.
Conway (2004) likened the book to “Nazi propaganda” and said that it was
“transsexual women’s worst nightmare.”
As a result of Conway’s and James’s efforts, a number of very public academic,
personal, and professional accusations were made against the first author. None
of these accusations was true (Bailey 2005). (For an historical investigation into
the controversy surrounding The Man Who Would Be Queen, including a descrip-
tion of the substance and the merits of the accusations, see Dreger 2007.) The

528 Perspectives in Biology and Medicine

 What Many Transgender Activists Don’t Want You To Know

attacks on The Man Who Would Be Queen were precisely an attempt to punish the
author for writing approvingly about Blanchard’s ideas, and to intimidate others
from doing so.
The second author was also attacked by some of the same transsexuals after
she helped create the Website transkids.us.This website was created by a group of
homosexual transsexuals, or “transkids,” their nonclinical name for themselves, to
educate the clinical and research communities in the wake of the controversy re-
garding The Man Who Would Be Queen. The writings on the site both endorsed
Blanchard’s distinction between homosexual and autogynephilic MtF transsexu-
als and criticized the standard feminine essence narrative as being both false and
harmful to homosexual MtF transsexuals. Subsequently, Andrea James (2007)
conducted highly personal attacks on individual transkids (including the second
author), urging that these transkids be exposed and asserting that they were
“fakes” because they would not reveal their identities publicly.

How Denial of Autogynephilia

Can Be Harmful
We believe that advocacy for the standard feminine essence narrative, and against
Blanchard’s theory, is primarily conducted by, or at least on behalf of, nonho-
mosexual transsexuals who incorrectly deny their autogynephilia. We have out-
lined why some autogynephilic transsexuals might want to deny that they are
autogynephilic, and why they might strongly prefer the standard (but false) fem-
inine essence narrative. Those who advocate on behalf of autogynephilic trans-
sexuals in denial include many gender clinicians; their motives may include their
unwillingness to disbelieve or displease their patients and their greater comfort
with the idea of facilitating sex reassignment for reasons related to gender than
to eroticism (Lawrence 1998). Some clinicians may also think that belief in the
feminine essence narrative may be beneficial for their patients’ psychological
health and social interactions, even if it does not correspond to the true etiology
of their desire for sex reassignment. Nevertheless, there are both scientific and
human costs to colluding with autogynephilies in denial by propping up the
feminine essence narrative as an explanation for all MtF transsexualism.
Impeding Scientific Progress
Obviously, the extreme, highly personal attacks on those who agree with
Blanchard’s theory of transsexualism are likely to deter people from researching,
agreeing with, or publicizing the theory. That is, indeed, the intended function
of the attacks. Most theories can benefit by scientific criticism, but the attacks on
The Man Who Would Be Queen and its author by transgender activists were not
scientific criticism. We have argued that Blanchard’s “two types” theory has
greater explanatory value than the feminine essence narrative and the associated
brain-sex theory.Whether or not we are right, deciding between the two views

autumn 2007 • volume 50, number 4 529

J. Michael Bailey and Kiira Triea

via political pressure cannot be the right way to advance science. The scientific
costs of this pressure include embracing a less plausible theory and failure to ad-
vance the better theory. For example, it is possible that some transsexuals’ resist-
ance to the current theory is due to its incompleteness, which prevents it from
explaining their inner experiences to their satisfaction (Lawrence 2007a).
Progress toward a more complete theory is impeded by the kinds of pressure we
have described, but it would be facilitated by thoughtful criticism.
Harm to Homosexual Transsexuals
Clinicians who work with transgender patients and who believe in the fem-
inine essence narrative of MtF transsexualism sometimes take a similar approach
to both homosexual and nonhomosexual MtF transsexuals. For example, the sec-
ond author knows transkids whose therapists have offered them, and their fam-
ilies, readings by and about nonhomosexual transsexuals (e.g., She’s Not There, by
Jennifer Boylan [2003] and Conundrum by Jan Morris [1987]). The narratives in
these readings did not even approximate the transkids’ lives, and the therapists’
assumptions that they did had a highly negative effect on the transkids’ attitudes
toward therapy. Inevitably, they dropped out early.
Homosexual and nonhomosexual MtF transsexuals have different life issues
and goals, and the persistence of the belief that they are similar prevents devel-
opment of clinical interventions likely to benefit the homosexual subtype.Velas-
quez (2004) has argued that there is a lack of meaningful therapy for young
homosexual transsexuals like herself, and that this is because transkids are not
recognized as a subtype distinct from nonhomosexual transsexuals.The denial of
autogynephilia helps make this possible.
Harm to Autogynephilic Male-to-Female Transsexuals
There are also substantial human costs to autogynephilic transsexuals due to
insistence on the false, feminine essence narrative. We consider two groups
whom we believe are harmed by embracing the false narrative at the expense of
Blanchard’s categorical theory: autogynephiles not in denial, and autogynephiles
in denial.
Although few nonhomosexual MtF transsexuals publicly identify as autogy-
nephilic, many more do so privately. Of the e-mail correspondence the first
author received regarding The Man Who Would Be Queen, about a third was from
individuals who understood themselves to be autogynephilic. Some of these in-
dividuals said that reading about Blanchard’s theory in the book had been reve-
latory and that they understood themselves for the first time, and all of them
were happy that autogynephilia was being discussed openly.
Even before the controversy concerning the book, transsexuals sympathetic to
Blanchard’s ideas have found themselves unwelcome in transsexual forums (e.g.,
online forums discussing transgender issues).Typically, any endorsement of Blan-

530 Perspectives in Biology and Medicine

 What Many Transgender Activists Don’t Want You To Know

chard’s theory, or admission of significant autogynephilic motivation, is met with

hostility.This hostility appears to emanate primarily from individuals who fit the
profile of autogynephiles in denial.The extreme stigmatization of the (true) idea
of autogynephilia harms autogynephiles not in denial in obvious ways. It makes
it much less likely that they can find resources that help them understand them-
selves, forces them into the closet, invalidates their self-concepts, and heightens
feelings of shame.
Although autogynephiles in denial prefer the standard feminine essence nar-
rative, this does not necessarily mean that wide acceptance of that narrative is in
their best interests. In general, it seems likely that the best clinical and personal
decisions are made on the basis of accurate conceptualizations. For example, we
have noticed that some transsexuals we would classify as autogynephilic have
chosen to pursue sex reassignment surgery after being diagnosed as “transsexual”
rather than “transvestite,” a diagnostic moment they often recount with a sense
of relief. Currently, in the psychiatric nomenclature, the official name for trans-
sexualism is gender identity disorder, highlighting the centrality of gender identity,
consistent with the feminine essence narrative (American Psychiatric Association
2000). However, the differential diagnosis between transsexualism (gender iden-
tity disorder) and transvestism (“transvestic fetishism” in the DSM) is not clearly
meaningful. Both nonhomosexual transsexuals and transvestites are motivated by
autogynephilia; many (perhaps most) nonhomosexual transsexuals were transves-
tites prior to transitioning; and most importantly, the main difference between
the two conditions is that transsexuals, but not transvestites, decide to take steps
to achieve women’s bodies. As we have noted, the precise nature of one’s auto-
gynephilic fantasies is a key factor in this decision. It seems detrimental to us that
what should be an explicit cost-benefit decision, with important consequences
to the lives of autogynephilic patients and their families, might be unduly influ-
enced by a differential diagnosis of questionable validity.
It is unfortunate that the public face of MtF transsexualism is so different from
reality. The controversy concerning The Man Who Would Be Queen has raised
awareness of Blanchard’s ideas within the transgender community, but it has not
yet encouraged open-mindedness to those ideas. Those who value scientific
truth and the well-being of transsexuals are advised to do better.

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